


Moonsighting

by odiko_ptino



Series: Modern AU [24]
Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Gen, Ramadan, kind of a reverse shovel talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 14:10:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odiko_ptino/pseuds/odiko_ptino
Summary: Artemis explains the liminal nature of the gods on the first night of Ramadan.





	Moonsighting

For the most part, Madiya’s religion has a minimal presence on Icarus’ radar.

Granted, Icarus isn’t super-observant in his day-to-day life – take, for example, the amount of time it took him to realize that there was anything really different about Apollo and Helios.  But as far as Madiya and Islam are concerned, it’s really been far more low-key than sun deities breaking shit in Icarus’ apartment.  

Generally, he’s only consciously aware of it when she performs salah.  Their classes often align such that he’s hanging around outside one of the campus Quiet Rooms, where she goes for Dhuhr and Asr; and only once was he at her house for Maghrib and stood quietly out of the way in the next room while her family prayed.  Ramadan is not much different, except that Madiya now joins him on his lunchtime dog walks instead of eating; and she tends to be less inclined to commit to events that might spill over into iftar.

Madiya also makes a concerted effort to be more positive during Ramadan – probably difficult this year and the previous, since it coincides with their preparations for their finals.  But she doesn’t curse or complain or gossip, and since Icarus is loyally attempting to support her by doing the same, he finds that his own mood is uplifted more during Ramadan.

So he’s more patient than he might normally have been, when he walks into his apartment mid-afternoon and finds Artemis taking a soda and some leftover pizza from his fridge.

“Oh – hello, Artemis. Uh, help yourself,” he says, removing his shoes as he shuts the door.  

Artemis grins at him. “Don’t mind if I do!”  She’s already taking a bite, and nudges the fridge door with her hip.  

“Er – not that I’m not glad to see you any time – but, I thought Apollo said he was going to be busy today?  I don’t think he’s here…”

“Yeah, the first day of Ramadan, he likes to make a special point to be up in the sky… kind of encouraging people, y’know?”

Icarus blinks.  “Oh – he – participates?  In Ramadan?”

“Not as such.  He’s just  _there_.  But since the month has so much to do with the sun and the moon, we all like to kind of look in on things, generally bless people.”

This feels….weird. “Is that… okay?  I mean – they – don’t believe in you…”  As an agnostic-bordering-on-atheist, Icarus’ shock at learning of the existence of the reality of the Greek gods had been more along the lines of surprise at learning something he’d thought of as a story had been, in fact, true.  He hadn’t had a previous deeply held religious conviction to be challenged.

Artemis shrugs, cracking open the soda.  “They’re spending a whole month trying to be better people and get closer to their god. We appreciate that kind of thing.”

“Yeah….. I guess…”

She’s watching him carefully now, an unreadable expression on her face.  “You think that’s a problem?”

He spreads his hands defensively.  “No, it’s just – I dunno.  It feels weird, I guess.”

Artemis takes a huge drink of the soda.  “Us blessing them or not doesn’t change their religion one iota.  It’s not invalidating them.  They’re not doing it for us… that’s why we’re not actively participating. Our interest in humanity has kinda been like that for a while now.”

“Does that mean… if it’s you guys in the sky…”  It’s a strange feeling.  Icarus really didn’t believe in anything before.  But he feels uncomfortable now, considering how important Islam is to Madiya. To all the rest of them.

“If their god, Allah, is real, I’ve never seen or met Him,” she says, finishing off the pizza slice.

“…oh…”

“Doesn’t mean He’s not, though.”

Icarus blinks at her. Artemis laughs, but kindly.

“Look.  If there’s one thing you humans are  _really bad_  about, it’s your obsession with false dichotomies.  I guess it’s just the way you’re raised to see the world now.  It’s not an either/or.  The universe is too big for that.”

“But… if all of you are in charge of running the world… and creating it, and stuff, then… how can their god be real?” Icarus is getting genuinely distressed about this now.

She leans over and boops his nose.  “Gods aren’t the same as you, kiddo.  We’re liminal.  Sometimes we’re real; sometimes we’re not.  Sometimes I’m the moon; sometimes I’m a sexy babe with awesome archery skills. Sometimes the world was created by one God; sometimes it’s an explosion of particles; sometimes it’s a giant snake having sex with itself.”

As she probably intended, the outlandishness of this last option startles him into laughing, breaking the tension.  She grins and takes another drink of soda.  “It’s all true, unless it needs to be different.  There aren’t better words to explain it to you now… but you might be able to understand it later.  Tee-ell-dee-arr, their god is real, but I don’t exist where He would exist.  All I’m doing is handing out blessings to kind people who deserve it.”

Icarus sighs.  “Gives me a headache…”

“That’s probably your blood sugar dropping.  I heard you’ve been throwing off your normal meal pattern for Madiya’s sake; that’s sweet.”

“I see  _you’re_  not!” he says, pointing at the soda.  She burps theatrically, making him chuckle again.

“I’m operating on Mecca time right now!  It’s way after sundown there.”

“If you’re on Mecca time, shouldn’t you be working – ugh, forget it,” he sighs, seeing her grin at him again.  “ _Metaphysical_ , I know.”

She laughs.  “You get so mad about that!  And even after I gave that nice speech about how gods are liminal. What a twerp.”

“Did you just come over to confuse me and eat my pizza?”  Icarus tries giving her a stern look, which crumples when she makes the same face back at him.

“Mostly, yeah. Honestly, annoying you is turning into one of our favorite pastimes.”


End file.
